Cougar's 500K Is A Membrane Keyboard With N-Key Rollover
If you liked what you saw when Cougar built the 700K, but didn't like its steep price tag, you may consider looking at the membrane version of the keyboard, the 500K.
Recently, Cougar released its 600K mechanical gaming keyboard, and back in September it built the 700K. Now, the company announced the 500K, and it's not the keyboard you might expect.
At first blush it looks identical to the 700K, except for the color of the backplane. It has the same layout, the same features, and the same styling, so why is this the "500K"? Because it's not a mechanical keyboard, but rather a membrane keyboard with rubber dome switches.
As we mentioned, it otherwise has the same features as the 700K. It comes with N-Key rollover (which the company points out is a rarity among membrane keyboards), six programmable G-Keys (one of which is half of the space bar), full LED lighting, media control switches, macro recording controls, and windows-key lock button.
This keyboard is for the users who really liked what they saw with the 700K but didn't feel like forking over the hefty price tag that comes with mechanical keyboards. Mechanical keyboards may offer a superior typing experience, but if you haven't typed on one long enough to get addicted yet, you can choose to save some dough and get this keyboard instead.
Cougar priced the 500K at $74.99 and it will be available Q1 2015.
UPDATE: This article was updated at 9:22 EST, December 12 2014 to add pricing information and to remove the box art, which incorrectly said "Mechanical Gaming Keyboard".
Follow Niels Broekhuijsen @NBroekhuijsen. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.
-
N.Broekhuijsen ReplyIs it just me, or does the box say "mechanical"?
Good catch! Reached out, turns out it was a mistake. All fixed now.
-
Cirridyn "Steep price tag," they say... comparing mechanical keyboards to a membrane keyboard that costs nearly as much as mechanical keyboards. The benefits of mechanical aren't just for typing - they're also for gaming. Just try and press several non-modifier keys all at the same time on a membrane keyboard and see how many of them actually register. This isn't a gaming keyboard; this is an expensive keyboard for someone seeking the shiny of a gaming keyboard but who doesn't need a gaming keyboard.Reply